Next Thunderbolts: True Heroes
by Raptor2216
Summary: What if the Avengers weren't the only team that had children they hid from Ultron? What if the Thunderbolts did too? After defeating Ultron, the Next Avengers find the Next Thunderbolts, and the two teams must band together to face a new threat.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, 2216 here.**

 **For those of you who know me and my stories, I have something new for you. A Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow fanfiction. This is one of two fanfictions I have planned for this cartoon film.**

 **Originally, I had not planned to publish this until I had completed my favorite story,** _ **Jurassic Avengers**_ **, and had made significant progress on my other two stories I am currently focusing on. But, since I have already written enough of this story, I thought I would get started with the first few chapters, take a break to work on my other stories, then return this one.**

 **As the title and story summary suggest, this story is about the Next Thunderbolts, the children of the Thunderbolts who have been raised to be true heroes, unlike their parents. Now, the roster I chose for the Thunderbolts is very different, and includes several villains that weren't in the Thunderbolts in the comics. Also, not all of the Thunderbolts from the story told to the children will have children.**

 **Well, that's enough for now. Let us begin.**

 **Chapter 1- The Story**

In her crib, little 6 month old Lillian giggled and cooed. A pair of strong but gentle hands picked her up and put her on their owner's shoulder.

"Can we hear it again?" asked a 6 year old Gunther, dressed in his purple pajamas. "Please? Tell us the story more, please?" pleaded a 5 year old Emily, wearing a black T-shirt and white sweats, holding onto a 3 year old Nathaniel, who wore tan pajama pants and a T-shirt with dark and light green stripes.

"Again," repeated a 4 year old Derek, who wore his emerald green pajamas. "Yes. Tell us again," asked a 5 year old Eddie, wearing black pants and a gold and black striped shirt. Next to him, a 3 year old Adam clapped and smiled, dressed in his pure black pajamas.

From his bed, 8 year old Ivan, wearing his green T-shirt and silver pants, smiled and said, "Yeah, come on."

The man holding little Lillian against his shoulder chuckled and patted Lillian's back. "Okay. Just one more time, and then it's time for all of you to go to bed."

"And there came a day unlike any other, when the Earth's mightiest heroes were united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born. Every threat they faced, they vanquished.

"Over time, several of the Avenger' former foes banded together. Intending to bring down the Avengers and accomplish their own personal goals. However, they began to doubt their motives. After some time, they chose to renounce their old ways. The swordsman, the monster, the goblin, the beast, the ninja, the thief, the insect, and the soldier.

"On that day, the Thunderbolts were born. They labored as they would, keeping their own interests in mind, but always remembering the safety of humanity.

"Then came the day when they faced the sorcerer, and were defeated. Their confidence lost, the Thunderbolts dissolved, as the Avengers brought peace to the world.

"With the world at peace, the Thunderbolts chose new lives. They found love, and settled into simpler lives. And, one by one, the children of the Thunderbolts came to be. Children who their parents hoped would grow to be true heroes, and even stronger than they had been.

"But in time, evil returned. An evil called Ultron. Ultron wanted nothing less than total dominion over the world. The Avengers fought against it, but fell. Ultron destroyed all heroes who stood against him.

"Finally, the Thunderbolts were the last line of defense against Ultron. Allying themselves with the sorcerer, they made a final attempt to stop Ultron. Sadly, their defeat was inevitable.

"But before they fell, the Thunderbolts hid their children in a far away place, where they would grow up safe from Ultron's rule."

By now, the children was asleep, and the light was off. The old man smiled from the doorway as he finished his story. "Because the Thunderbolts knew if their children were alive, then hope would live on."

With that, he closed the door to the children's room. He walked down the hall to his room, but stopped before entering. He looked up at the ceiling. In his mind, he said, _Wherever you are Stark, I hope you've got your kids. When your kids and mine unite, Ultron will have good reason to fear._

Then he opened the door and walked into his room. Right before the door shut, there was a small flash of silver.

 **I'm going to end right there.**

 **I hope this chapter worked. Hopefully, you guys will like the rest of the story.**

 **I will post the next chapter very soon. Maybe today.**

 **As for the roster, I hope I made it a little hard to tell who some of my Thunderbolts are. I think one is very obvious, based on his nickname. Also, I will tell you that the monster is Red Hulk, and he is dead. Also, he is the only one who doesn't have a kid in the Next Thunderbolts.**

 **Well that's it. Review and tell me who you think my Thunderbolts are.**

 **Until next time.**


	2. Chapter 2- Trouble in Paradise

**Hello to you all.**

 **This took a lot longer to write than I anticipated. I have been unexpectedly very busy this past week. But, here's Chapter 2.**

 **This chapter takes place 5 months prior to the main events of Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow. The kids are now almost 12 years older than they were in the last chapter.**

 **Fangirlingovermarvel:** You were right about the Green Goblin. I had a feeling that would be obvious. However, this Green Goblin is actually Harry Osborn, not his dad, Norman. Also, your guess about the Winter Soldier is right. He was a part of my Thunderbolts. However, you were wrong about Ant-Man and Doctor Strange. You were close to Ant-Man. I'll say now the "insect" is a character attached to Ant-Man in the MCU. But, Doctor Strange was way off. I don't see him associating with former villains. Now, he is a human, and he is known as a villain. I will say that much. Other than that, I will say some of the other Thunderbolts may be tied to Spider Man.

 **Guest:** Yes, there will be JamesxTorunn. There will also be a pairing in the Next Thunderbolts, and possibly a pairing between the teams.

 **I don't have much to say right now. So, let's get going with the chapter. But, one last thing. Most of the Next Thunderbolts will have their parentage revealed, or given away, in this chapter. Count on at least half. One will have their parent specifically stated.**

 **Chapter 2- Trouble in Paradise**

A gentle breeze blew through the trees. It was pretty silent before a boy riding on a glider shaped like a surfboard flew past the waterfall that fell into the pond. He wore an emerald green body suit. It was Derek.

He flew over the pond and into the trees. He had no idea he was being watched.

Derek continued through the trees. As he exited into a small clearing, he was suddenly hit from behind by a blast of sand blown by the wind. The force was great enough that he fell off his glider and tumbled through the sand on the ground.

After a few seconds, he started to stand up. But, in seconds, his feet slipped out from under him as the sand started to move. Derek watched as the sand started to rise, slowly forming a figure. After a minute, this figure of sand solidified into Nathaniel, who grinned and poked Derek in the shoulder with one finger, leaving a few grains of sand on Derek's suit.

"Tag," said Nathaniel with a smirk. "Come on, Nate," exclaimed Derek as he jumped to his feet, "I thought that we agreed not to use any powers."

"We agreed on using only our personal skills," said a voice from above. They looked up to see Adam lowering himself from the trees on a line of black, sticky webbing.

When he reached the ground, he released it, then said, "We agreed not using anything to give us an unfair advantage. And I would say that a glider definitely fits in that category."

Derek grunted in frustration, but gave in. "Ugh, fine." He walked over to his glider, picked it up, pressed the button to fold it in half, and attached it to the strap on his back. Nathaniel grinned, then said, "Come on, let's go find the others." With that, he dissolved into sand and started to blow away. Adam shot out a line of black webbing and swung away through the trees. Derek groaned, then pulled his glider back out, hopped on, and flew after them.

Near the fountain that was surrounded by pillars dedicated to the Thunderbolts, Lillian was fighting with Eddie. Well, training with him. She was swinging at him with sticks, meant to simulate her katanas, while Eddie blocked them with thick arm guards that he was wearing. She was wearing her led leotard, similar to her mother Elektra's, red leggings, and her red headband. Eddie was wearing his black jeans and his yellow & black striped T-shirt. His tattoo of a wasp on his arm was clearly visible.

A few yards away, Emily sat on a boulder, her blond hair blowing around in the breeze. She was wearing her black sweats and black T-shirt. Her cybernetic arm, made of vibranium, (which replaced her left arm, which she lost in an accident when she was 8) gleamed in the sun. Her eyes were closed, and she was thinking deeply, recalling the few memories she had of her father.

Then Emily began to hear the sound of sand blowing around. She opened her eyes and said loudly, "I know you're here Nathan." A few moments later, sand began to rise and come together before solidifying into Nathan. ( **AN: Nathan's full name is Nathaniel, but, for the rest of the story, I'm going to mostly use the name Nathan** )

"Darn!" He exclaimed. A few seconds later, Adam and Derek arrived, Derek hovering just off the ground on his glider. Derek quickly stepped off the glider, collapsed it, and attached it to his back.

"Come on," said Adam, "We're playing a game of tag. Join us." "Nah," said Eddie, "Boring. Plus, if you haven't noticed, we're missing someone."

"Yeah." Nathan agreed, as if he just noticed it, "Where is Gunther?" "Three guesses where," said Emily.

A minute later, all of them had gathered outside the door of Gunther's bungalow. Emily opened the door and they all walked in. Gunther was sitting on the floor, playing a video game, occasionally saying something as his character slaughtered zombies.

"Gunther," said Emily, trying to get his attention. Gunther ignored them and kept on playing his game. Emily sighed, then turned to Derek and jerked her head towards Gunther. Derek sighed, not pleased about him being given the job, but walked towards Gunther.

"Gunther?" he said when he was standing by Gunther. When Derek got no response, he reached down and grabbed hold of the controller. In a flash, Gunther jerked the controller back, dropped it, jumped to his feet, grabbed Derek, and launched him out the door. The rest of the kids hurriedly got out of the way as Derek sailed out of the door and into a puddle of mud on the ground below.

Derek looked up as Gunther walked out of the door of his bungalow, the others behind him. As Derek stood up, Gunther said, "So, if you all are done bothering me now, I'm going to get back to my game."

"But you're missing _our_ game," said Nathan, who quickly turned to sand and blew down to the ground before reforming next to Derek.

"What is wrong with you, Gunther?" demanded Derek, "You've either been sleeping or gaming all day, every day for the past week. You've missed your chores and training, and have generally been a real pain in the butt."

"So what?" Gunther asked, "What's the big deal with that? I've trained for years. So what if I miss a week?" He then did a back flip off the landing and landed on the ground.

"For what?" he said as he landed, "Come on. Nothing will ever happen here. You guys can all pretend like you're heroes, Emily can sit around meditating, and Ivan can walk around like a moving statue everywhere he goes. What the point?"

"The point is to not be such a JERK!" exclaimed Emily and frustration. She turned to walk down the stairs, only to be stopped by Gunther, who retaliated with, "Oh, yeah, right. I forgot. All of our parents were killed by Ultron. But you're convinced your dad is alive and hiding somewhere, even though that means he abandoned you, so there's still hope for you."

That was the proverbial needle in the balloon. With a shout of rage, she leaped off the stairs, drawing back her vibranium arm, while simultaneously pulling out a small knife from the holder attached to her pants at the waist.

Gunther shot his right arm up and grabbed Emily's cybernetic before she could hit him with it. He then drew dagger he always kept with him and used it block Emily's knife.

The others looked on as Emily and Gunther struggled against each other. "Well, they haven't fought like this in a long time," said Lillian. "Yeah," said Adam.

"You still aren't anywhere near my equal, Emily," growled Gunther. "We'll see about that Gunther," snarled Emily as she pushed against Gunther harder than before.

Suddenly, another voice called, "That's enough." A second later, a small lightning bolt hit the ground next to them, forcing them apart and knocking them off their feet.

All the kids looked towards where the lightning had come from. There stood a man with whitening hair and a thin beard, wearing a pair of black sweats, a black shirt with long white sleeves, and black gloves. Next to him stood Ivan, dressed in his armor and green cloak. A spark along one of his fingers confirmed where the lightning had come from.

"James!" Exclaimed Adam, "I was just about to try and break them up." "Yeah!" exclaimed Eddie, "We wouldn't have let it get any more serious!" Nathan nodded to back them up.

"Gunther, Emily, go to your bungalows and calm down. Now," said James. Gunther and Emily groaned, but obeyed. Lillian laughed, but James said, "You and the others too, Lillian." "Ahh," she pouted, but they all obeyed, knowing better than to disobey James, or they would get a little jolt from Ivan to encourage them.

As Gunther walked up the stairs into his bungalow, James called after him. "Hold on, Gunther." Gunther stopped, and Ivan spoke in his calm, monotone voice that betrayed no emotion.

"Gunther, I understand how you may feel trapped here with the nine of us. But you can't take it out on your siblings. I learned years ago the hard way that doing that doesn't help you feel any better."

"Ivan is right, Gunther. If you are going to be mad at anyone here, then be mad at me," said James. "I'll apologize to everyone later," muttered Gunther.

"I may not have known him too well, but I know that your father was never terribly good at giving apologies either," said James, "You know, Gunther, that you can always come talk to me. I'll try and understand." "But it's not the same. Like you said, you're not my dad," said Gunther before going up the stairs. James sighed, and Ivan stared after him with a look of pity on his face, something rare for Ivan.

James was starting to turn around when alarms suddenly began to sound. James went rigid. "James!" shouted Ivan, nervous about these alarms. "James!" Eddie called out in fear. Lillian leaped next to Ivan and said in fear, "What's going? What's this alarm?"

"Everyone," said James sternly, "Get inside Gunther's bungalow until I give the all clear. Ivan, we're on Alert Level 1. Be ready to initiate Theta Protocol." "Yes," replied Ivan.

As James ran off into the trees. Ivan turned to his younger siblings and said, "Everyone, get ready for if we were going into combat, then gather in Gunther's bungalow. Go!"

As they all rushed off, Ivan looked up at the "sky", and thought to himself, _If this is it, then I will avenge my father, and the Thunderbolts._

 **And there's a cliffhanger, because that's the end of this chapter.**

 **I hope this was an okay chapter.**

 **First off, this alarm does not mean Vision has come. At this point, he and Tony do not know the children of the Thunderbolts are still alive.**

 **Next, I hope that you were able to guess the parentage of the kids. Obviously, Lillian is the daughter of Elektra. I will tell you now, Derek is the son of Harry Osborn. He has also been enhanced with the Goblin Serum, albeit a modified version. Also, his outfit, weapons, and glider are based off Harry's from the movie** _ **Spider Man 3**_ **. And, the only one I will say now is that Emily is the daughter of the Winter Soldier. I made cybernetic arm a vibranium one, because some of the current rumors about Winter Soldier's cybernetic from the MCU say that it is made of vibranium.**

 **As for the other, I think Nathan's is very obvious. Hopefully, you can guess Gunther, and Ivan ought to be easy. However, I'm not sure if you can yet tell the parentage of Eddie and Adam.**

 **Well, I think that's enough for now. Please review this chapter, and let me know who you think Nathan, Gunther, Ivan, Eddie, and Adam's parents are. Also, I promise I will expound on James' character later on (by the way, he's not related to James, son of Captain America).**

 **I will try and post the next chapter today. If not, it will be up in the next two days. I hope you enjoy it.**

 **Until next time.**

 **To be continued in "Theta Protocol"**


	3. Chapter 3- Theta Protocol

**Hey guys. Looks like I got this up today like I said.**

 **This chapter will feature a certain robotic menace finding the Next Thunderbolts. I'll go into no further details.**

 **Now, you'll get the identity of Adam and Eddie's fathers in the first few paragraphs. I may not necessarily state their names, but what I'll say about Eddie and Adam will give it away. Everyone else's parentage will also be revealed in this chapter, as well as a little of James' backstory.**

 **That's enough. Let's get started.**

 **Chapter 3- Theta Protocol**

The kids sat and paced in Gunther's bungalow. It had been a while since James ordered them to confine themselves to the bungalow. All of them were dressed and armed as if they were about to go into combat.

Gunther was now wearing his purple body suit, identical to his father's, minus the mask. His sword, a wonderful blade almost identical to his dad's that was made of vibranium, hung at his waist, as did his dagger.

Emily was dressed in her black combat suit that was virtually identical to her father's, even down to the missing sleeve that showed off her vibranium arm. Across her chest diagonally was a belt that held extra ammunition. Her assault rifle was strapped to her back, as was her shotgun. Two of her pistols were holstered on her belt, a third in her ammunition belt, and the remaining two secured to her legs, one on each leg. Her main fighting knife was secured to her belt, with a slightly smaller knife strapped to her right sleeve just above the wrist, and a third strapped to her left thigh. And her collapsible bo staff was strapped to her belt.

Eddie was wearing the Hornet suit, a modified version of his father's Yellowjacket suit, though his helmet was in its retracted position. Nathaniel was wearing the same striped green shirt and tan pants that he had been wearing before. Derek was wearing his green body suit and his utility belt, with his glider attached to his back. Adam was wearing his black body suit, with his rifle strapped to his back, with the only sign of the symbiote being the claws on his fingers.

Lillian was wearing her red outfit that was identical to her mother's and her red leggings. Her two katanas were strapped to her back in an X-shape, and her two sai blades were strapped to her belt. Ivan was still wearing his armor and cloak.

"I wonder if James has found anything," said Eddie. "We should be helping him," said Emily. "He wants us here," said Ivan simply, "So we'll stay here until he says otherwise."

"I wonder what it is that set of the alarms?" Said Adam. "Hopefully it's something small. If you've forgotten, we've had alarms like this before, and usually it means some kind of fire or mechanical failure," replied Ivan.

"What else could it be?" asked Gunther. Ivan was quiet, then said slowly, "It _could_ be a warning of an impending natural disaster, or…"

"Or?" Gunther urged. Ivan was quiet, and some of the others started to suspect what the other option was. Ivan started to speak, "It-" Suddenly, the alarms, which had almost died down completely, started blaring again, but louder than ever, and with a slightly different pitch, one Ivan had never heard before. But he knew what it meant.

Suddenly, Gunther's TV turned on to show James. "Kids!" "James!" exclaimed Lillian. "Ivan," James said urgently, "It's time. Execute Theta Protocol. Go! I'll catch up with you." The screen then went black.

Immediately, Ivan shouted, "Everyone out, now!" Scared, they all listened to him without hesitation. Once they were all outside, Ivan shouted, "Everybody! Head for the Control Center! Go! Run!" The fact that Ivan seemed worried was enough to get them sprinting for the Control Center.

As they ran, Gunther turned to Ivan and said, "What's going on, Ivan?" "I'm afraid the final answer to your question, the one I never got to say, is what's happening. These alarms have never sounded, and have one purpose. Plus, James told us to execute Theta Protocol. Theta Protocol plus these alarms means only one thing. Ultron has finally found us."

Everyone came to a screeching halt, and Adam actually tripped and fell on his face. Lillian, terrified, exclaimed, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Ultron?! Are you kidding me?! Ultron's coming here?!"

There was a loud boom. Then, high overhead, there was an explosion. Gunther, Emily, and Ivan grabbed their siblings and yanked them out of the way of falling debris. The impact of a particularly large piece knocked them off their feet.

They all turned and looked up. All of a sudden, the "sky" started to go dark, save one spot, through which could be seen sun.

Then, through that hole came a ball of red light. As it descended, it became a figure. When it landed in front of them it sent up large clouds of dust that forced them to cover their faces.

When they removed their hands and looked, they saw the figure was a robot. A robot with a terrifying face. Although they hadn't seen it before, they recognized it immediately. Ultron.

Ultron took a step forward, then spoke in a harsh, robotic voice, "Children, unexpected."

Ivan stood up and faced Ultron. He cast a bolt of lightning at Ultron. Ultron simply absorbed the lightning through one hand, then lifted the other and fired a repulsor blast that blew Ivan off his feet. As Lillian rushed to see if he was okay, Ultron spoke again. "Assessment: Definite threat. Commencing termination." He raised his hand, the one he had used to absorb Ivan's lightning, and prepared to fire a powered up repulsor blast.

Suddenly, from the dust clouds still behind Ultron, a dark figure suddenly appeared, grabbed Ultron by the head, and threw him into the trees.

All the kids looked at the figure. It was a man, dressed in a suit identical to Emily's, save the face guard and goggles he wore. He also had a metal arm, but his had a red star on the shoulder. His array of weapons included pretty much all of Emily's, with a few additional weapons, one of which was a two-barreled rocket launcher he had on his back.

As they watched, the man whipped the rocket launcher off his back, pointed it, and fired. The rockets hit at Ultron's feet, and blew the robot back into the forest.

All the kids, save Ivan, stared up at their savior in awe. Like Ultron, they had never seen him before, but knew him on sight. Emily had a few tears in her eyes as she said, softly, "Dad." "The Winter Soldier," confirmed Adam.

The Winter Soldier turned to face the kids. His face guard suddenly retracted as he lifted his goggles from his eyes, revealing a face they already knew, but were shocked to see.

"Get to the Control Center now. I'll hold off Ultron," said _James_. "James?" asked Eddie. Suddenly, Ultron rose up into the air.

"I'll catch up to you. Now, go!" Ordered James before he turned towards Ultron. He paused, then turned back and said, "By the way, call me Bucky." Then he turned back and ran off to do battle with Ultron.

Emily started to run after him. She couldn't believe she had been raised by her father all this time and didn't even realize it. She was so confused, but she at least knew her dad needed her help.

But Gunther and Eddie quickly restrained her. "Let me go!" shouted Emily, "I have to help my dad!"

"No!" Ivan shouted, "We have to listen to Bucky. We're not ready to take on Ultron. I think I proved that myself. Bucky will follow us as soon as he can." He shoved EMily in the direction of the control center, then let electricity crackle on his right hand, spurring everyone else to run.

It didn't take long to reach the Control Center. As they all gathered in the control room, Gunther turned to face Ivan and demanded, "What's going on here?" Ivan stared at his adoptive brother for a moment, then said loudly, "Computer. Execute Theta Protocol."

Suddenly, a female computer voice said, "Theta Protocol initated." Suddenly, 8 seats rose up from the floor. The voice continued, "Take your seats please. We are launching." Before anyone can question this, they were pushed to the floor by the force of acceleration from below.

The Quinjet rose from the control center, spread it wings, then streaked out of the open hole in the dome. Beyond that, the children of the Thunderbolts looked in amazement at their surroundings. Outside the dome was rolling green land, and beyond that, ocean.

EMily suddenly remembered her father, still back in the dome. She quickly activated a screen to project feed from a security camera. As the feed came up, they saw Bucky battling Ultron. In just a moment, Ultron fired a repulsor blast that struck Bucky's assault rifle, destroying it and blowing Bucky back into a boulder.

Emily screamed for her dad. Ultron walked right up to him. They appeared to have a brief conversation before Ultron picked him up by the front of his shirt. The feed froze there.

"Dad!" Emily cried out. "Take us back there!" shouted Derek at Ivan. "No," he said, "We can't. Bucky sacrificed to allow us to escape. We're heading for the Savage Land, far to the south. There's a secondary home there for us. We'll continue our training there, until we're ready to take on Ultron. And nothing you say is going to dissuade me from following Bucky's orders."

They all looked angrily at Ivan, but gave in. They knew he was serious, and they couldn't take him in a fight. They sighed and sat back in their seats.

Emily looked out the window as the Quinjet flew south, towards the Savage Land. She had just learned her dad was still alive, had met him as her dad, and now he was gone. As she stared at passing clouds, she thought to herself, _I promise you, Dad. I'll train as hard as I can. Then, when I'm ready, I'll come for you._

At the back of the compartment, Ivan looked over his 7 siblings. He sighed. He knew this was hard for them. But they had to stay strong. They would train harder than they ever had, and then they would go after Ultron.

But, hopefully, not without help. Ivan looked forward out of the window. He thought to himself, _Wherever you are, Stark, your gang better be ready, because we're going to need you._

 **That's the end.**

 **I know. Kind of a weak ending. But I couldn't think of anything better.**

 **So, yes! James is the Winter Soldier and Emily's dad. If you pay attention to MARVEL closely, you'll know that Bucky's real name is James Buchanan Barnes. I'll explain his reason for silence later.**

 **For those of you who are interested, the island where the Next Thunderbolts hid is in the Pacific. I'm probably going to have it be Wake Island, just in case of future reference.**

 **Next chapter will not feature the Next Thunderbolts at all. It will feature Tony learning they are alive, and Bucky's fate.**

 **Also, yes. Eddie is the son of Yellowjacket, ie Darren Cross, the one from the Ant-Man movie. The Hornet suit is an upgraded version of the MCU Yellowjacket suit. And, Adam is the son of Eddie Brock, and the new host of the Venom symbiote. But, he's more like Agent Venom, in that he keeps it under control, and he only actually becomes Venom in full when he wants to.**

 **For those of you who want to know, Emily's utility belt houses grenades, taser disks, and other supplies. Derek's utility belt mostly houses pumpkin grenades. Derek has also an attachment on the sleeve of his suit that can pop out blades, like Harry Osborn in _Spider Man 3._**

 **If you guys haven't figured out who Ivan's dad is, it will be revealed next chapter.**

 **Well, that's enough for now. Please follow and review this story. And I hope you'll be eager for more.**

 **Until next time.**


	4. Chapter 4- They're Alive

**Hey guys. Here's Chapter 4.**

 **This chapter will be very brief. It will feature Vision telling Tony that the Next Thunderbolts are alive. It takes place the day that Ultron finds the Next Avengers.**

 **To reiterate, the Next Thunderbolts will not show up again until Chapter 7. But, Bucky will be in the next chapter.**

 **To address practically every review I've gotten, there will be Torunn and James in this. Their romance will begin very blatantly in the next chapter. There will also be a romance among the Next Thunderbolts, and possibly a romance between the teams.**

 **That's enough. Let's go.**

 **Chapter 4- They're Alive**

(5 months after Ultron finds the Next Thunderbolts)

Tony picked up one his welding torches and turned it on as he continued working on the Vision, trying to repair the damage.

"How did they find you?" asked Tony. "I was accessing the mainframe," replied Vision. Above them, Pym and Azari were watching them.

Vision reported on what he had found. "All of Europe has been subjugated by the machine forces since my last report. Drones are gathering along the Pacific Rim and Eastern Europe. The invasion of Asia will soon commence."

Tony brought the flame from the torch into the Vision. "In 13 years, he's conquered half the planet," he said in slight disbelief. "Also," Vision continued, "Clint Barton's son is alive."

"What?" said Tony in shock. He could not believe it.

Above them, Pym and Azari were discussing this information. They were so absorbed in it, they missed what Vision said next. "Tony, I have more. I have discovered that the children of the Thunderbolts are still alive, as is the Winter Soldier."

Tony almost dropped his tool. "I can't believe it! Are you sure?" he said in a low voice. "Yes. I accessed Ultron's records. He found their home on Wake Island 5 months ago. He captured Bucky, but the children, under the protection of Dr. Doom's son, escaped, thought their current location is not known. And, from what I found, I believe Ultron has kept Bucky alive."

Tony did not know what to think. He had been unsure if Bucky had been able to escape with the children. Now he knew. They were alive.

As he resumed his work, he thought to himself, _If we can team up with Bucky and the Thunderbolts' kids, then we would be unstoppable. Ultron would fall, and nothing else could challenge us. Even Thanos himself would think twice about challenging us._

 _It's time. Once the kids are trained and ready to go, then we're leaving to find the children of the Thunderbolts._

 **There we go. Yeah, I know. Incredibly short. But this was just a gap filler. It also contained a teaser to a potential villain for this story. Did you catch it?**

 **Also, it has now been confirmed. Ivan's full name if Ivan von Doom, and he is the son of Doctor Doom himself. We'll get to see him in real action later on.**

 **Well, that's enough for now. Hope you guys are excited for the action and romance to begin. Until next time, have a good day.**

 **Raptor 2216 out.**


	5. Chapter 5- Romance and Rescue

**Hello to all my readers. I am pleased to be back with Chapter 5.**

 **Here it is. The chapter many of you have unknowingly been waiting for. Torunn and James start their romance in this chapter.**

 **The main plot of this chapter is the Next Avengers retaking Ultra City, and rescuing Bucky. And, of course, TorunnxJames.**

 **Well, that's enough. Let's get moving.**

 **Chapter 5- Romance and Rescue in Ultra City**

James jumped over the remains of a robot and threw his father's shield at another robot. The shield carved right through the metal body of the robot. The pieces fell to the ground and exploded.

Suddenly, five more robots swarmed down on him. Before James had the chance to react, a beam of electricity blasted two to pieces, and a flying sword cut through two more. James destroyed the fifth with his shield. As the shield returned to him, he looked up to see Azari and Torunn had arrived. Azari continued into the city, blasting any robots in his way. Torunn paused briefly as she recalled her sword to look at James, giving him a small smile, then she flew off again to engage more robots.

James smiled to himself. When Torunn smiled, she looked even more beautiful than usual. He had always had a little bit of a crush on her, though he usually expressed it by being annoying. However, during the last week, over the course of the battle against Ultron, he had come to realize just how much she meant to him.

He shook his head. He couldn't afford to be distracted like this right now. He leaped over the wreckage of the robots around him, cut down another robot with his shield, then rushed off to find more targets.

When he didn't find any for a minute, James called up Tony. "Tony, what's the status on Ultron's army?" "You guys have destroyed most of the army by now. Other robots have fled the city. There are only about 1,000 left in Ultra City." "Understood," said James, and he continued on.

A few seconds later, Hawkeye contacted James. "James, I just disabled 100 robots with an EMP arrow, then used some explosive arrows to drop a building on them." "Good," said James, "Now we've only got about 900 to go." "Nice," said Hawkeye.

James didn't hear anything else from him, so he rushed off to find some more robots.

As he came to the ruins of New York City, he found the ruins of square and a bunch of old buildings. There were about 50 robots milling about. James immediately threw his shield, cutting down three. The other moved to engage him.

James managed to cut down the robots' numbers to about 20 before Torunn showed up again. They quickly disposed of the remaining robots.

As they stood there, watching the remains of the robots burn, James said, "Thanks for the help." "You are most welcome," said Torunn.

Tony came on over their earpieces. "The robot army now looks to be down to a little over 600. Good work, Avengers. Keep it up."

Torunn said, "Come, James. Let's go finish up the rest of the army before we head to the Citadel." The plan had been to destroy the army in the city, then go to the Citadel and search it to see if there was anything of value there.

But, when Torunn spoke, James didn't move or speak. He stood still, staring at the building that stood in the center of the square. It was a large brick mansion, broken and crumbling. But, despite being in ruins, something about it drew him in.

"James?" Torunn asked. He didn't answer. Torunn turned around and saw what James was looking at. "What's that?" asked Torunn. Just like James, she felt drawn to the building.

"I don't know," said James, "Why don't we go check it out?" Torunn hesitated for a moment, then followed James.

James smashed aside the remnants of the gate with his shield. He and Torunn walked along the path leading to the front door of the ruined mansion. As they neared the door, they noticed what looked like an "A".

They entered the mansion and took a few steps down the front hall before stopping. The walls were lined with old pictures. Some were destroyed, but many were still intact. They instantly recognized the people in the pictures. Their parents. The first Avengers.

James lifted a device Tony had given him. He took a few pictures of the hall, then sent them to Tony using the device. "Tony," James said using his earpiece, "What is this place?"

He didn't get a response for like half a minute. Then, Tony said slowly, "James, Torunn, I can't believe it. You've found the Avengers Mansion. This is where me and the other Avengers lived and operated from. Our home."

James and Torunn looked at the ruined hall with even greater awe. They had found their parents' home (temporary home in Thor's case).

"Home," said James softly. He turned to look at Torunn. She looked back at him, a few small tears in her eyes.

James continued to look at her. She looked so beautiful right then. As he looked at her, he felt something in his heart.

Suddenly, he noticed the distance between him and Torunn was getting smaller. Pretty soon, they were standing almost nose to nose. They stood there for a few seconds, looking into each other's eyes. Then, James slowly leaned in and kissed her.

They stood there for a moment. Then, Torunn dropped her sword and put her arms around him and kissed him back.

The two stood there for a few moments, only concerned about what was happening right then and there. Then, after a moment, they separated. They looked into each other's eyes, and smiled.

Suddenly, their earpieces activated. It was Hawkeye. "Hey, everybody. Looks like there's less than a hundred robots left, and they're running. It think it's time to head for Citadel."

James, reluctantly, responded. "Okay. We'll meet you there." He smiled at Torunn, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Let's go," he said quietly. He waited for Torunn to pick up her sword, then took her other hand, and they walked out together to go meet the rest of their team at the Citadel.

(1 hour later)

James grunted as he shoved another piece of debris out of the way. The team had been searching the Citadel for almost half an hour, alongside Tony. But they had found nothing.

As they kept moving along the hall, they suddenly saw a door that was barred from the outside. They had found no other room like this, and it immediately piqued their interest.

"What do you think is in there?" asked Azari. "Who knows?" Hawkeye asked. "It's got to be something important," said Pym. "Let's take a look," said James, "Torunn, you want to let us in?"

Torunn didn't even respond. She simply raised her sword and cut through both sides of the bar keeping the room shut. Azari then hit it with a concentrated blast of electricity, knocking it in. The team, and Tony, all walked in.

They stopped. The room was empty except for a device in the center that looked identical to the one Ultron had used to imprison Tony. And in it was another old man.

Hawkeye immediately released a few arrows to destroy the device. James and Azari ran up to catch the man as he fell. "It's okay," said James, "You're free now. We've got you."

The man shook his head slowly and looked up. "Ugh, what?" Then, he looked at Tony, and surprise came over him. "Stark?" he asked. "Barnes?" Tony asked with surprise.

The man stood up. "It is you," he said. "I'm sorry," Pym said, "But who are you?"

The man looked at them all. Then, slowly, he said, "I'm the Winter Soldier. Better known as Bucky Barnes."

 **Well, that's it. And yes! KISSING!**

 **I hope this satisfied by James and Torunn shippers out there. And I promise they will be more of them in this story.**

 **Well, the Next Avengers have met the Winter Soldier. Next chapter, they'll learn about their Thunderbolts counterparts.**

 **Well, it's late, and I have nothing more to say, except review and be excited for Chapter 6.**

 **Raptor 2216 out.**


	6. Chapter 6- Bucky Tells His Story

**Hey guys, I'm back.**

 **I know you guys have been wanting an update. I've been busy with school. Luckily, I'm now graduated (YAY!), so I can spend some more time writing.**

 **For now, let's get into Chapter 6.**

 **Chapter 6- Bucky Tells His Story**

The Next Avengers looked through the window. Tony was talking to the man they had rescued from the Citadel. The man was drinking water slowly as Tony talked to him.

"So who is this guy?" asked Hawkeye. "No idea," said James, "But those names, the Winter Soldier, and Bucky. I feel like they should have some significance to me."

Right then, Tony stood up and came to the door. He opened it and said, "Come in here. Bucky here wants to talk to you."

They all came in and sat down. Bucky looked at them all. They looked at him, a little apprenhensively. Then, Tony came and sat down next to Bucky. "Go on, Barnes. Tell them everything."

Bucky nodded, then looked right at James. "You're James Rogers, right?" he asked. When James nodded, Bucky said, "You look quite a bit like your dad. He would be very proud of the man you've become."

"You knew my dad?" James asked excitedly. "Yes. I did. In fact, I was his best friend from childhood," said Bucky. James couldn't believe it.

"I'll you more about him some other time. But right now, I have to tell you a few things. First off, let's start with myself."

"Many decades before the Avengers were formed, James' dad was given his powers. He fought an organization called HYDRA during the midst of a worldwide war. I was his sidekick. But, during the end of the war, I fell into a ravine, and Steve believed me dead. In reality, I survived, and was captured by HYDRA, who brainwashed me and turned me into their ultimate assassin: the Winter Soldier. After the Avengers were formed, Steve eventually tracked me down and was able to break me free of HYDRA's control. However, I couldn't bring myself to join the Avengers after all the bad I had done when I was being controlled by HYDRA. So I joined another team, the Thunderbolts."

Before anyone could ask questions, he said, "And the Thunderbolts I will now explain. The Thunderbolts were a team of former villains, led by a former archenemy of Captain America. They renounced their evil ways and instead decided to protect humanity."

"The Thunderbolts were a varied collection of villains. The leader was Baron Helmut Zemo, the son of one of Captain America's greatest enemies. He too fought against Captain America, but eventually changed and decided to lead the Thunderbolts to protect humanity. He was incredibly strong and quick, and fought with a sword.

"There were 7 more Thunderbolts. One was the Green Goblin, a man who had been enhanced by a special serum, flew on a glider, and used special grenades. Another was Yellowjacket, a man who wore a weaponized suit that also let him shrink to insect size. Then, there was Red Hulk, a smarter, red Hulk. Then there was Elektra, a woman who was master martial artist, and fought with several knives.

"Then, there was Sandman, a man who could turn himself into sand. Then, there was Venom, a man possessed by an alien symbiote, which turned him into a black beast. Then, there was me, the Winter Soldier."

"For some time, we worked as a team. Then, we came into conflict with Dr. Doom, the dictator of the country Latveria. He was a master inventor. He wore a suit of armor that let him cast lightning. He was also a sorcerer. Finally, he commanded an army of robots. Despite our best efforts, we could not defeat him. After our defeat, we disbanded and settled down.

"When Ultron rose and defeated the Avengers, the Thunderbolts reformed to fight him, this time with Dr. Doom on our side. But even we failed. All of the team was killed, including Dr. Doom, except for me. I fled and hid from Ultron, because I had an important mission."

"What mission?" asked Azari. "Protecting and raising the Next Thunderbolts," he said. "Who are the Next Thunderbolts?" asked James, though he kinda felt like he knew the answer already.

"When we settled down, the Thunderbolts, save the Red Hulk, had children. Dr. Doom also had a son. When Ultron defeated the Thunderbolts, I fled with the children and hid with them. I raised them just as Tony raised you, so that one day they might come back and defeat Ultron."

"Then why did Ultron have you?" asked Torunn. "He found us. Dr. Doom's son, Ivan, the oldest of the Next Thunderbolts, escaped with the rest of the kids while I held off Ultron. They escaped, but Ultron captured me."

"Did you have a kid?" asked Pym. "Yes. A daughter. Emily. She was with them too. But, she only found out who I really was, and that I was her dad, right when Ultron found us. I never told her I was her dad until I sent them off with Ivan."

"Why?" asked James. "To encourage her, because the whole time, she believed her dad was alive. Not telling her who I was would motivate her, and protect the other children. It's complicated, but I had my reasons."

The Next Avengers stared at Bucky. Then, Pym said, "Well, let's go find them!" "Pym!" Azari rebuked. "No, don't worry," said Bucky. Azari looked at him.

"Now that you know that the Next Thunderbolts exist, it is time for you to meet them. I know where they went. They went to a special home I built years ago for them in the Savage Land. That was why Vision tried to take you to the Savage Land. He wanted you to meet up with the Next Thunderbolts, because it would've been safer for you since you didn't have Tony anymore. Now that Ultron is defeated, it's time for you to meet my team. If we're going to bring peace back to this planet, we'll need to join teams."

James smiled. He was excited to meet this new team. "Avengers, let's go meet the Thunderbolts."

 **And that's it. I know this chapter may have been a little short, but I wanted to get it up today.**

 **Next chapter, the Next Avengers will finally meet the Next Thunderbolts. Also, Emily will truly meet her dad, and Bucky will fully explain his reasons for silence.**

 **Until next time, review, and have a good summer.**

 **Raptor2216 out.**


	7. Chapter 7- Reunion

**Hello to all my loyal readers. I am back with a new chapter.**

 **My reviewers have been begging for a new chapter to this story. I didn't realize how long it's been since I last updated this story. I've been concentrating on finishing the** _ **Jurassic Avengers**_ **and getting my first Harry Potter fanfiction going.**

 **This chapter ought to be a good one. I will say no more. Let's get this started.**

 **Chapter 7- Reunion**

Emily sat on the branch, looking up the sky. A breeze blew through the trees, causing her hair to wave. The sunlight glinted off her vibranium arm.

It had been about 5½ months since Ultron found their home and taken James. Oh. No, not James. Bucky, the Winter Soldier, and her father.

Emily still could not believe that she had been raised by her father her whole life and she hadn't known. She couldn't believe she hadn't figured it out on her own. She felt betrayed, angry that her dad had hidden his identity from her for all those years. But, at the same time, she felt kinda glad he had. Since learning James, or rather Bucky, was really Emily's dad, most of her "siblings" had gotten a little bit distant from her. She thought they were jealous of her and the fact her dad was still alive when their parents were dead. Only Ivan seemed to not be bothered at all by the fact. He said he actually had known who Bucky was for several years, but had promised to keep Bucky's secret.

Ever since the team had come to the secondary home in the Savage Land, Ivan had taken over the role of "parent". He had increased the amount of training they did, as well as how difficult their training was. He was determined that, when the time was right, they go after Ultron, rescue Bucky if he was still alive, and destroy Ultron.

However, Emily had become slightly depressed. Despite her slight bitterness at her father's silence as to his identity, she hated the fact that she had lost him just minutes after learning he was her dad. That had pushed her to train even harder, but, when she wasn't training, she liked to spend a lot of time alone.

She had also become closer to Gunther. She had had a slight crush on Gunther since she was younger, even though they fought so much. He had become nicer to her lately, helping her when she was feeling down about her dad. He had almost helped her a lot with her training.

As she sat on the branch, Emily heard a voice. "Emily!"

She looked down. Gunther was standing below her. "Ivan wants to see you," he yelled up to her.

Emily nodded to show she understood, then hurriedly climbed down from the tree. Once she was on the ground, she and Gunther set off for the control center, which was just a few minutes away.

They walked in silence most of the way. As they got near the control center, Emily asked, "What does he want me for?" "Not sure," Gunther said. Emily nodded, and they walked the rest of the way in silence.

When they reached the control center, they found Ivan twiddling with a small device. He looked up when the two entered the room. "Oh, hello, Emily. Glad you came. I wanted to discuss something with you."

Emily sat down in front of him. Then, Ivan said, "I've been monitoring Ultra City. I've noticed that city is almost entirely empty. I decided it's time to go see if Bucky is still alive. I've decided to send a small team to Ultra City to see if he's alive, and I wanted you to lead the team."

Emily smiled. "Of course. I'll do it." Ivan gave a rare grin.

Suddenly, alarms started going off. An instant later, Ivan was at the control panel, fingers dancing over the controls as he looked at various displays. After a few moments, Ivan said, "We have an incoming radar contact! ETA, 2 minutes." He turned to face Emily and Gunther. "Go out to the courtyard. I'll meet you out there with everyone else." He rushed out of the room, his green cape flapping behind him. Emily and Gunther looked at each other, then hurried out.

Nowadays, they always carried their weapons with them. So, they didn't have to run to their rooms to get their gear. They headed straight for the courtyard.

A minute later, Ivan ran into the courtyard, with Lillian, Nathan, Adam, Derek and Eddie following him, all decked out for combat.

Right as he reached Emily and Gunther, a plane appeared in the distance, streaking towards them. Everyone formed ranks and faced the aircraft, ready for a fight. Derek floated above them on his glider.

They watched the aircraft intently as it came in and landed. They settled into a crouched position, ready to fight, as the ramp lowered from the aircraft.

Then, humans came walking down the ramp. They all formed into a group and came around to the front of the aircraft, facing the Next Thunderbolts.

The two groups looked at each other intently, studying each other. Then, an older man pushed through to the front. Instantly, Emily's eyes lit up. It was Bucky.

"DAAAADDD!" she screamed. She ran across the no-man's land and flung herself at her father. For the next several moments, the two embraced for the first time as father and daughter.

When she pulled away from him, Emily's eyes were filled with tears. "You came back," she said. Bucky smiled and said, "Always. And you have these nice people to thank for rescuing me."

Emily faced the other people, all but one of whom were teenagers. "Thank you for rescuing my dad." One of them, a boy in a navy blue suit with a round shield on his back, nodded and said, "You're welcome."

Bucky motioned the Next Thunderbolts forward. When the two teams were just a few yards apart, Bucky said, "Next Thunderbolts, meet the children of the Avengers." Except for Ivan, all of them looked shocked.

"This is Tony Stark, the Iron Man," said Bucky, indicating Tony, "Their caretaker. And these are the children of the Avengers. I'll let them introduce themselves." Each of the Next Avengers introduced themselves, stating their name and parentage. Then, the Next Thunderbolts introduced themselves.

"Well, let's take this inside," Bucky said, and he led them all into the compound, leading them to a big meeting room.

"Well, first, I think I'll let the Next Avengers tell their story," said Bucky. Tony and James then told their story, of where they had lived, what they had been doing their whole lives, and finishing with their defeat of Ultron.

"Ultron's gone?" Eddie asked in amazement when James shared that piece of information. "Yes, he is," said James.

"But," James said before pausing for a moment. Then, he continued.

"Ultron's armies are still functioning. Even without Ultron to guide them, they're still a threat. We could really use help destroying all of Ultron's armies," James said.

There was a few moments of silence, then Gunther grinned. "You bet," he said. The rest of the Next Thunderbolts quickly followed suit.

Bucky smiled. "Yes, our teams are finally together."

The Next Thunderbolts and Next Avengers had finally come together.

(1 hour later)

It had been an hour since the Next Avengers arrived at the home of the Next Thunderbolts. During that time, the two teams had been working on getting to know each other.

Emily, however, had quickly left the two teams, bringing her father with her. She wanted some alone time with him.

The two of them sat on the roof of the control center, looking at the sky, which was dyed orange from the setting sun. For the most part, they had just stayed silent, other than Bucky telling Emily a little about her mother.

Emily sat with her head on her dad's shoulder. She had a question she was dying to ask him, but she couldn't gather the courage to ask.

All of a sudden, after almost half an hour of complete silence, Bucky finally spoke.

"You want to know why I didn't tell you I'm your father, don't you?" Emily lifted her head off his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. After a few seconds, she said, "Yes."

Bucky smiled, but looked a little ashamed.

"I had several reasons. One was for the sake of your siblings. If they knew you still had your dad, when all their parents were dead, and most of them couldn't even remember their parents, it would crush them. I wanted to protect them until they were old enough.

"Then, I also did it for you. You hadn't seen me in years when Ultron took over, and I brought you all into hiding. When you didn't recognize it, I figured I should keep it that way.

"Then, over the years, I realized that you trained harder than anyone else. And Ivan and Gunther were able to help me figure out you were training so hard because you wanted to go and find your dad one day. I knew that if you figured your dad was still out there and alive, it would inspire you to train harder.

"Trust me, it was the hardest thing I've ever done to not tell you I was your father. Even now, I'm not sure I made the right choice, or I think I should've told you a long time ago. But, you pushing yourself to be better so you could find me one day has turned into an amazing young woman, one I could not be more proud to have as my daughter."

Emily looked at him, then punched him in the chest. "That's for not telling me you're my dad until Ultron took you." Then, she hugged him tightly, and said, "And this is to start making up for all the hugs we should've shared over all these years."

Bucky smiled and hugged Emily back. They fell back into silence, just content to sit there, together as father and daughter at last.

 **Okay, I'll stop right there.**

 **The main purpose of this chapter was to introduce the two teams to each other. It's not the best chapter I've ever written.**

 **I think you guys should have recognized the hint at the possible romance in this story besides James and Torunn.**

 **I have nothing else to chat about. So, please review, and have a good summer.**

 **Raptor2216 out.**


	8. Chapter 8- A New Threat

**Hello to all my loyal readers out there. Raptor2216 here, and I am back with Chapter 8.**

 **Many people have been begging me to update this story more. I have not been able to write at all for several weeks. I do plan on being much more active on updating my stories from now on, however.**

 **This chapter will feature the Next Thunderbolts and Next Avengers fighting beside each other for the first time. Not all of each team will be in this chapter. Also introduced will be a secondary villain. Also, I am now going to start referring to each team as the Avengers and the Thunderbolts,not as the Next Avengers and the Next Thunderbolts.**

 **Allright. Let's get this started.**

 **Chapter 8- A New Threat**

With a great grunt, James threw his shield with all of his strength, cutting down yet another robot. He turned to see another coming towards him, only for an explosive arrow from Hawkeye to blow it apart. James gave a quick wave to Hawkeye, then grabbed his shield as it returned to him.

It had been two weeks since the Avengers had found the Thunderbolts. Since then, Tony had returned to the Avengers home to repair Vision, and Bucky had separated the teams into two teams, each with members of the Avengers and the Thunderbolts, to go out to destroy Ultron's armies. The robots were spread out and disorganized, so Bucky felt that splitting up the teams wouldn't be a problem.

Even though they had only known each other for a short time, the two teams worked well together. Even as he thought that, James kicked a robot and sent it flying into the air. Seconds later, blue energy beams hit it and made it explode. James was just able to make out insect-sized Eddie in the Hornet suit as he flew past the fireball.

James' team comprised him, Francis, Eddie, Emily, Adam, and Derek. Gunther led the other team, with Torunn, Prym, Azari, Nathan, and Lillian. Ivan,with Bucky's help, was on his own. James' team had assigned to liberate South America. Gunther's team was assigned to liberate Europe. Ivan and Bucky were destroying what remained of Ultron's forces in North America.

James team had liberated much of South America. They were currently fighting through a country known as Peru. Once they had finished with liberating Peru, they would be almost finished with freeing the continent from the remnants of Ultron's armies.

James suddenly heard a strange screaching roar. He turned to investigate the source. He saw Adam, in his full Venom form, tearing through drones. One attempted to attack him. Venom screached in response, then shredded the robot.

James smiled. Sure, Venom was terrifying, but he sure came in handy.

A spray of bullets drew James back into the fight. He shook his head, then launched himself at the offending robot. He brought his shield down, crushing the drone.

As he looked up from the wreckage, he saw Derek fly over a large group of robots. He dropped several pumpkin bombs on them, obliterating them all.

James surveyed the battlefield. Most of the drones had been destroyed. Venom was currently tearing through a line of drones. Emily was sending sprays of bullets or throwing grenades into clusters of drones. Hawkeye was picking off stray drones with his arrows. Derek was handling the remaining drones in the air.

Before long, the drone army had pretty much been annihilated. James spotted one last drone directly ahead. It was slightly damaged, but still moving. James slowly walked up to it, then smashed its head with his shield.

James looked down at the wreckage of the robot. He then raised his head to look around. He could see no more operational drones.

"Alright, everyone. Looks like we're finished up here," James said, his earpiece conveying his words to the rest of his team. They all converged on him. Emily reached him first. "Good job, James," she said, and they high fived. Given their fathers had been best friends since childhood, James and Emily had become fast friends, and got along very well. However, it did not affect his growing relationship with Torunn.

Hawkeye landed next to him, dropped by Derek, who now floated next to him about 6 inches off the ground. Venom ran up to them, and, in spite of themselves, James and Hawkeye gripped their weapons a little tighter. Venom shrieked, then quickly shrank down a little and morphed back into Adam.

"Good to see you again, Adam," said Hawkeye. Everyone chuckled a little.

"Okay guys. We're done here in Peru for the most part. Let's go get that small force hiding in the mountains, then we can head on to Venezuela," said James.

Everyone nodded. As they turned to head towards where the Quinjet was parked, James suddenly froze. Something felt a little off. The hair on the back of his neck seemed to be tingling. But he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Suddenly, the sound of a rifle shot split the air. James instinctively ducked and covered himself with his shield. He heard the bullet ricochet off his shield. Everyone else dove to the ground.

James looked up over his shield. For a few seconds, he saw nothing. Then, from around the hill just over a hundred yards away came men dressed in green, with yellow masks that looked like skulls. They were carrying rifles and flamethrowers, and shouting.

"Who are they?" Derek yelled over the chaos. Emily looked hard at them, sliding her goggles down over her eyes. The zoom feature of her goggles allowed her to zoom in on one of the men. A split second later, she gasped. She recognized the symbol stitched into the man's sleeve. A red circle, inside of which was a red skull with tentacles curling out of the bottom.

"HYDRA!" Emily shouted, recognizing the symbol from stories Bucky had told her since she was little. They all looked at her. "What?" Hawkeye asked. "They're bad guys! Let's take 'em down!" shouted Emily. She drew her assault rifle and ran at the men.

"After her, team! We got a new enemy!" shouted James.

With a shout, they launched into battle. Adam turned into Venom in a flash, and with a screech, launched into battle. Derek flew at them, throwing pumpkin bombs and smacking HYDRA soldiers with his glider. Hawkeye let his arrows fly, and James rushed in with his shield as Emily let rip with her assault rifle.

The HYDRA soldiers opened fire with their guns and flamethrowers. But the kids were not to be brought down so easily. The HYDRA soldiers were unable to match the Avengers and Thunderbolts, and began falling like hail.

Several minutes into the battle, as James slammed his shield into a HYDRA soldier's face, an energy blast hit right at his feet, blowing him back several yards.

James stood up slowly, shaking his head. He looked up to the top of the hill. A young man, around 20, stood at the top of the hill. In his hand was a large energy rifle. And the lower half of his right arm seemed to be some kind of red cybernetic.

All of the HYDRA soldiers turned towards him and bowed to or saluted the young man, who cast aside his energy rifle and walked straight towards James.

"So, I finally meet the son of Captain America," the young man said, "Not exactly an improvement, but decent enough, I guess." The young man spoke with an accent James had never heard before. But, just looking at him, James could tell he was the leader. He charged, and around him, the battle resumed.

James threw his shield at the man. However, the man knocked the shield aside. James aimed to punch him, but the man dodged the blow and punched James in the chest.

James jumped back, picking up his shield. He swung it at the man's head. But he ducked, then drew a dagger and slashed at James, who blocked it with his shield.

For the next minute, James fought the man. To his surprise, the man was just as good as him.

Suddenly, the man ducked under a blow from James' shield. He lashed out with his red cybernetic. But, instead of punching James, he grabbed James around the chin.

All of a sudden, James felt shaky and exhausted. The cybernetic seemed to glow slightly. It was like the cybernetic was sucking all the energy out of him.

Suddenly, there was a loud screeching. Both James and the man looked to the side. Then, the man let go of James and leapt back as Venom came charging at him. With the man no longer holding him up, James started to collapse. Luckily, Emily rushed up to grab him.

Right then, Venom turned and charged at the man again. In response, the man punched Venom with the cybernetic, which stopped Venom short and knocked him onto his back. He reached out to grab ahold of Venom too. But, Derek came flying at him, throwing a pumpkin bomb as he came. The man leaped backward to avoid the bomb.

All of the team assembled around James, facing down the man. All of the HYDRA soldiers gathered around the man.

"Who are you?" demanded Emily, "And what did you do to our leader?"

The man laughed. "Who am I? Why, I am Erich von Strucker, adopted son of the great Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, and rightful leader of HYDRA! As for what I did to your 'leader', well, the Satan Claw does that to people. You are lucky that your beast drove me off so soon. A little longer, and the effects would have been more permanent." Strucker laughed again.

"What do you want?" asked Hawkeye. "Why, the world of course," said Strucker, "I will fulfill my father's wish: a world ruled by HYDRA! I would advise you to stay out of our way. The Tesseract will be ours, and soon, I will have the power needed to remake the world in HYDRA's image!"

Strucker then turned and began walking back up the hill. "Why are you running?" Emily demanded. Strucker simply gave a wave of his arm, at which three soldiers armed with flamethrowers turned and fired their weapons at the team. The kids quickly took care of the three soldiers, but not before Strucker and the rest of his men were able to escape on jets.

As the kids watched the HYDRA jets fly away, James said weakly, "Well, guys, looks like we've got ourselves a new enemy."

 **And, there we go. I'm sorry again this took so long to get up, and if it was a little rushed.**

 **You've now been introduced to a villain of this story. Pretty soon, the Avengers and Thunderbolts will be working to capture Baron Strucker's son and keep the Tesseract out of HYDRA's hands. Why exactly does Strucker want the Tesseract? Guess you'll have to wait and find out!**

 **Also, I realized something a few days ago. Three of the Avengers from Tony's story survived Ultron, as well as the Hulk. As of now, Bucky is the only surviving Thunderbolt. I've decided to change that. I will soon be altering Bucky's story in Chapter 1 to include another Thunderbolt, who will survive Ultron, and meet the team later. Whether that Thunderbolt will have a kid or not, I'm not decided. I have a list of candidates: Taskmaster, Punisher, Deadpool, Moonstone, Lizard, Electro, Songbird, or Radioactive Man. Let me know what one you'd like to see. Ultimately, it'll be my decision, but I will try to base my choice based on reviews.**

 **Other than that, I've got nothing more to say except to ask you all to review.**

 **Raptor2216 out.**


	9. Chapter 9- The Tesseract

****Hello to all my loyal readers. I am back with another chapter.****

 ** **This is Chapter 9 of the Next Thunderbolts. Chapter 9 of I don't know how many yet :) By the way, to all fans of this story, I have a request. I love getting reviews on my stories, but I like them to have to do with the story they're posted on, and lately, I've been getting a lot of reviews on other stories asking I update this one. Just post those on this story.****

 ** **This chapter will feature James finishing his recovery from the Satan Claw and the two teams having the Tesseract, and something else, explained to them.****

 ** **Let's get moving.****

 ** **Chapter 9- The Tesseract****

 **The Avengers and Thunderbolts stood at the glass window in the medical bay at the Thunderbolts' home in the Savage Land. On the other side, Bucky and Ivan were working with James, who was still feeling some of the effects of Strucker's Satan Claw.**

 **"** **I hope he's okay," Torunn said nervously. Emily was one of several of the kids who grinned. She had been terrified when she heard what had happened to James.**

 **"** **He'll be okay. Strucker didn't have him in his grasp for very long. He'll recover fine. That's what my dad said. He said he's seen the Satan Claw's effects many times," said Emily.**

 **That seemed to calm down Torunn. She simply looked at James in silence. A few moments later, Bucky patted James on the shoulder, then helped him to his feet. He and Ivan then led James out of the room.**

 **Once he left the room, James found himself in Torunn's arms. "I'm am most glad you are okay," she said softly. "I'm stronger than that. Don't worry, Torunn," said James.**

 **"** **He'll be okay. He just needs to take it a little easy," said Bucky. "Thank you for helping him, Bucky and Ivan," said Torunn. "You're welcome," said Bucky. Ivan just nodded. Torunn looked at him for a moment later. There was something about Ivan that unsettled her. His seeming lack of emotion was too unsettling for her.**

 **Then, Eddie spoke up. "There's something we didn't tell you. After he used the Satan Claw on James, he said something. He said he would make his father's wish of a world ruled by HYDRA come true. Then, he said they would gain the Tesseract, and they would gain the power they needed to make their wish come true."**

 **Bucky looked shocked. Even Ivan looked nervous. "Oh no," said Ivan. "The Tesseract. I hoped we would never have to deal with that again," said Bucky.**

 **"** **What is the Tesseract?" asked Adam. "I think we should wait until Tony gets back. It's a long story," said Bucky.**

 **The teams nodded, then dispersed. Torunn led James to his room for a nap.**

 **(That night)**

 **Pym and Lillian came in the room and sat down. All of both teams were now in the room, as was Bucky, Tony, and the newly rebuilt Vision. Tony and Bucky looked at each other, then Tony began to talk.**

 **"** **Bucky told me that Erich Strucker said that he's looking for the Tesseract. Well, I'm going to tell you what that is, and why it's so bad that HYDRA is looking for it.**

 **"** **Long ago, the Tesseract was one of the great treasures of Asgard. It held immense power, and had the power to open a doorway through space. Long ago, it was lost on Earth. Decades ago, it was finally found. Since then, ownership of it has traded hands many times," said Tony.**

 **"** **Now the reason for its power, and why it can be used to open a doorway through space, is because the Tesseract contains what is known as an Infinity Stone," Bucky cut in.**

 **Tony nodded, then continued. "The Infinity Stones are six stones that predate the universe itself. They are the most powerful objects in existence. Each stone has a particular power, for which it is named. The Tesseract contains the Space Stone. The other five are the Mind Stone, the Soul Stone, the Reality Stone, the Power Stone, and the Time Stone."**

 **Bucky spoke. "Each stone's power is so great, very few beings can handle them safely without being destroyed by their power. However by using machines, they can be handled with relative safety. The Tesseract has been used for many things. Once, its energy was harnessed to create weapons."**

 **Tony then looked like he wanted to speak, but he faltered. Then he spoke. "There is also an object out there that can allow the Stones to be used as weapons without risk to the user. It is called the Infinity Gauntlet. It is a golden gauntlet with six indentations in it to hold the Infinity Stones. If the Gauntlet holds all six Stones, then it grants the one wearing it complete control and use of each Stone, as well as complete control over every aspect of reality, allowing the wielder to do anything they want.**

 **"** **Before Ultron rose against us, the Stones were lost. Scattered. HYDRA obviously thinks they can find the Tesseract. What they want with it is beyond me right now, but I'm sure their purpose will be revealed soon."**

 **Everyone stayed silent, taking in what had just been said. Then, Tony said, "Ultron's armies are now nearly destroyed. I've contacted the remaining governments of the world, and they have promised to finish the last remnants of Ultron's army, leaving us to handle HYDRA. Get some sleep. We start going after them tomorrow."**

 **The teams dispersed, heading off to their rooms. As Bucky headed off to the control room, Tony looked up at the ceiling, thinking to himself.**

 ** _HYDRA after the Tesseract. That changes things. I just hope they want in for weapons or something. If they're working with someone else, we're in trouble. Or, God-forbid, Thanos is involved in this, then we're screwed._**

 ** **Okay, guys, that's the end of that chapter. I know it was a little short. I just wanted Tony and Bucky to brief them on the Tesseract and the Infinity Stones.****

 ** **Now, if you didn't get my message last chapter, I intend to add one more Thunderbolt to Bucky's story and have that Thunderbolt survive in hiding, kind of like the Hulk did. Whether or not that Thunderbolt will have a kid, I am undecided. However, I am now shortening the list of candidates. The list is as follows: Taskmaster, Punisher, Deadpool, Electro, and Songbird. Please let me know what ones you'd like to see. Ultimately, the choice will be mine, but I'll try to take your suggestions into account. I am not sure when I will have the Thunderbolt show up.****

 ** **Until next time, please don't forget to review. Please!****

 ** **Raptor2216 out.****


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